Dr. Janice M. Nelson, the unsuccessful 1998 and 2000 Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican congressman David Dreier in California’s 26th district said Wednesday she was aware that Dreier had been living with his male chief of staff during her 2000 campaign.

Nelson, who is a professor of pathology at Southern California School of Medicine and a medical director at the LAC and USC Medical Center, stated that her campaign was aware Rep. Dreier had lived with his chief of staff Brad Smith but opted not to make an issue of it during her campaign.

“All I wanted to do was work on healthcare and local issues,” Nelson said.

Michael Rogers, the gay activist who first asked that Dreier be more candid about his sexuality on his site, blogACTIVE, wrote last week that he “was especially interested in talking with Brad Smith about his living arrangements with the Congressman here in DC.”

Nelson said Dreier would rarely be seen publicly with Smith.

“Brad was like an invisible presence,” she said. “They really have the routine down slick.”